Category Archives: Hearne_Christopher
Hearne: Westport Harnesses Strippers, Mounts Threats to Lure Chiefs
Think of it as an R-rated Chiefs rally…
The year was 1994 and Westport sparkplug Bill Nigro and his pal Stanford & Sons main man Craig Glazer were out to make a statement. The Chiefs under the watchful eye of general manager Carl Peterson just having scored a home playoff game victory at Arrowhead earlier that year on January 8, Nigro’s birthday.
Wanting a piece of the action, Nigro and Glazer plotted a rally in Westport the Friday before the season opener in September
Over Peterson’s cold, dead body.
The Chiefs’ big chief was down on the party zone because of some high profile player incidents that had gone down there. Westport had promoted that superstar Chiefs quarterback Joe Montana and other players would be on hand for the shindig. But after thinking they had the Chiefs in the bag, Nigro and Glazer heard Peterson had forbade Montana and the players from attending.
That’s when things started to get interesting.
Today: William Allen White Stubs Toe, Raveonettes & KU vs. K-State
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True or false? The dude KU named its journalism school after nearly murdered the mayor of Kansas City..
Answer: Who the F knows? Revered journalist William Allen White may have cast a big shadow in his day, but when it comes to the reporting of this alleged incident, he clearly dropped the ball. Every KU journalism freshmen knows you’re supposed to cover the 5 W’s when reporting a story.
Who, followed by What, Where, When & Why.
But when White sat down to pen his autobiography prior to his death in 1944, he spit out up a silly sounding story about rescuing Kansas City Star publisher William Rockhill Nelson by throwing a mayor down a flight of stairs.
That’s right, a flight of stairs.
The question is, which mayor. Celebrated journalist that he was, White messed up and left out the mayor’s name. Along with what city he was mayor of. Oh and the date it happened.
And they named a journalism school after him?
Today: Secret Santa, Naked Starbucks Lady, Chiefs Giveaway & More!
Is the sky still falling?
Yes, but not as badly where the economy is concerned. That according to Kansas City Federal Reserve main man Thomas Hoenig. Hoenig delivered the good news/bad news goods at downtown womens organization the Central Exchange Wednesday.
The economy will continue grow at a faster pace but unemployment will remain at 9 percent or higher this year, Hoenig says. It stands at 9.8 percent now.
Not exactly good news with the possibility of $3.50 or higher gas on the horizon this summer.
Secret Santa Update
As expected, the comments section and Facebook criticism of my Secret Santa story was brutal. Understandably. Perhaps I should have prefaced it here as I did in the abreviated version that ran this week in the Platte County Landmark. Too late to backtrack now, but for the record, here’s how the story was presented in the hinterland:
Hearne: The (Sometimes) Bumpy Road of KCC’s Comments Section
This is the new year, right?
A time to look backwards and ahead for all of us, including the comments section battered me. So let’s get on with it. I’ve got some explaining to do.
Let’s fly right into the heart of the storm. As you may know or suspect, we’ve had our share of issues with this important part of KC Confidential since switching from blog to Web site around Halloween. And clearly, we’ve not made correcting these issues look easy.
But I think we’ve got most of em fixed now and we could use your help on addressing that which remain.
As of yesterday, your (fake?) names appear in bold near the top of your comment. That’s important because while the identities of most of our contributors is anonymous, readers like to know that its Kellysguy or smartman or Chuck or Jojo doing the honors, rather than the far more bland "anonymous."
Today: A Daily Dose of What Passes for News in Kansas City
Better late than never…
As promised, starting today KC Confidential launches a daily, observational look at news, views and things going on in or about Kansas City. It’ll be fast, lean – and when need be – a bit mean. You may learn something, you may not. No promises to keep or break.
That said, I’ll strive to make it entertaining so the boo birds and haters will have something worthy of trampling upon. How’s that?
Now let’s get on with it…
Caught KCC film and travel guru Jack Poessiger’s movie of the year for 2010 last night.
Hearne: Can Anyone Save Ward Parkway Center?
It’s not easy being the Ward Parkway Center…
Take it from the last however many owners that’ve tried.The allure of affluent Leawood housing to the west, the prestigious Ward Parkway corridor and nearby south Johnson County subburbs make it impossible to resist. So owner after owner has marched in with grand plans, plowed money and improvements into the mall attracting sexy tenants like Staples, only to see them wither and die or bail because of lackluster sales.
In the 1960s and ’70s and into the ’80s Ward Parkway was one of the city’s premier shopping centers.
That was then.
Hearne: The Media’s Manufacturing of Secret Santa
Time to lay the Secret Santa cards on the table…
Like the myth of Robin Hood – the dude who allegedly shot arrows and stole from the rich to give to the poor but in all likelihood never even existed – the story of businessman Larry Stewart as Secret Santa, was a carefully crafted PR concoction. By Stewart and editors and writers – not journalists mind you – at the Kansas City Star and later Channel 9. It was a holiday heartstring tug the newspaper trotted out every year around Christmas on its front page
In short the Star milked Secret Santa for everything he was worth.
Even this year – three years after Stewart’s death – hard news reporter, Tony Rizzo, still got stuck doing the Secret Santa schlock honors.
"Their smiles cut through the sharp chill of a drab December morning," Rizzo panted breathlessly. "And their tears of joy washed away – if only for the moment – the dire circumstances of their lives."
All that over a stranger handing someone a $100 bill? Please.
The fact is Secret Santa was one of Kansas City’s worst kept secrets.
Hearne: The incredible Lightness of Star Publisher’s Christmas Being
The Chiefs weren’t the only heavy hitters in town doing a bit of holiday chest thumping this past weekend…
In a rare, non sky-is-falling cameo, Kansas City Star publisher Mark Zieman used the excuse of raising a few pesos for Harvesters to toot the newspaper’s horn. Majorly, on the front page under a columnist-style pic.
"This is what your newspaper is for," Zieman said of the newspaper’s fundraising.
Then he (somewhat oddly) decreed that "The Kansas City Spirit" had "officially" been born in 1951, following the flood of that year. Upon which he contradicted himself by noting that the "spirit" had been exhibited before in 1869 and 1900 and numerous other occasions.
Uh, so when exactly was it born?
And while Zieman’s Christmas Day epistle was ostensibly a sendup to KC’s "entrepreneurial drive and benevolence," it was also an excuse to blow a bit of smoke up the you-know-what’s of slow-thinkers among the readership.
For example, Star founder William Rockhill Nelson "made it clear that this newspaper would not be a cheerleader," Zieman wrote.
Yet not only is the Star of today a cheerleader – as it’s often been over the years – it has the political and economic pom-poms to prove it. Take the booster columns and editorials about the taxpayer draining Power & Light District. Or the Sprint Center. Or the pro Mark Funkhouser for mayor columns of four years back.
Even Secret Santa, for crying out loud, one of the worst kept secrets in Kansas City.
Hearne: 2010 a Queer Year to Remember
Now a brief, non-commercial message from the folks at Camp magazine…
The publication that brands itself as "Kansas City’s Voice For The LGBT And Allied Communities." Fittingly, Camp‘s Holiday Sneer issue features a giant photo of Ron Megee channeling Joan Crawford‘s "Mommy Dearest" for What was the gay highlight of 2010the Unicorn‘s "A Very Joan Crawford Christmas."
But the fun stuff goes down in Jimmy Newsum’s lookback on the past year.
"Between the ups of Modern Family winning an Emmy and a federal judge overturning Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, and the downs of Rentboy becoming a household name – thanks George Rekers! – and the premier of Logo’s shamefully delicious The A-List: New York, our stomachs are in knots."
The gay highlight of 2010?
Hearne: The Well to Jump Start Waldo NY’s Eve with New Party Room
There’ll be no ye old ice cream shoppe going into the retail space adjacent to The Well in Waldo…
Nor furniture boutiques, Starbucks or anything of the sort. That’s because the powers-that-be behind the space just north of the The Well – Chris and Andy Lewellen – have decreed otherwise.
Coming soon instead; a massive, new upscale party room.
This is going to be the grand daddy of ’em all," Chris Lewellen says. "We want to make it something sophisticated, like the Hearne Christopher Room.
Yeah, right…
Hearne: The Wasted Effort to Save Streetside Records in Westport
There’s an effort underway to prevent Streetside Records in Westport from closing…
Mum’s the word apparently. When I breezed through this past weekend, a pair of Streetside employees urged me to keep up with the store’s status via its Facebook page. All the while alluding in suggestive tones that a local ownership group was in the offing.
Not Streetside’s big, bad, evil corporate owners who plan to close it in January.
But kinder, gentler folks with the best interests of Kansas City and Midtown at heart. People who presumably don’t mind parting company with their hard earned cash in a money-losing business in a dying industry.
While saviors may yet be found, I’ve got news for the Save Streetside crowd; the good guys have already come and gone.
Hearne: Real Reason Queen of Soul Blew Off Performing Arts Center
God Save the Queen!
When Kauffman Center for the Perfroming Arts announced in late July Aretha Franklin would headline its fundraiser in the Power & Light District, the stampede was on. Who wouldn’t want to see the Queen of Soul maybe one last time. As had been the case a few years back when James Brown played a local casino.
Tickets started at $35 for group gang bang concert ducats and $200 a pop for dinner and VIP seating.
“This is going to be the biggest party Kansas City has ever seen, bar none,” George Brett said in the PAC’s canned press issue. “This will bring the entire community together to celebrate the countdown to the launch of one of the world’s best venues to see some of the world’s best artists. – right here in Kansas City.”
Just one problem.
Hearne: The KC Confidential Holiday Wilding Giveaway
Ah, the fine art of something for nothing…
Who doesn’t like playing that game? Within reason, of course. So it is that KC Confidential will invite two readers to our holiday party Monday December 20th at Jardine‘s on the Plaza. That’s right, two of you guys.
The something for nothing aspect?
No biggie really, but complimentary, ultra high-quality Jardine’s cuisine with be served. Along with, you know, potables. And entertainment by the club’s always excellent, kick ass jazz musicians. Sax man Steve Lambert, for example.
But attending this bash really isn’t about the freebies. It’s a chance to rub elbows with KCC’s (arguably) finest.
Hearne: Cumulus Rules Ratings Radio Roost in Post Diary Arbitron World
Dear Diary,
I promise I’ll never lie to you again. Ever.
The days of Arbitron ratings diary carriers subverting the truth are history. With the year-old advent of Arbitron’s "people meters" that actually track what listeners are listening to, the practice of over-reporting favorites has ended.
No more claiming WHB all day long when you only listen to Kevin Kietzman in the afternoon drive.
Left behind are the shell shocked stations and DJs that benefited from the previous practice, while advertisers and listeners alike have reawakened to far more honest, accurate, consistant ratings and rankings. Ratings that in many instances turned local radio worlds upside down.
Hearne: Does Steve Rose to the Star Mean Death to the Sun?
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A moment of silence, please, for all those freezing cold folks in Hell …
Iconic Johnson County Sun scribe Steve Rose is joining the columnist ranks of the Kansas City Star. Don’t bother re-reading that last sentence, it’s not a typo. Or an early April Fools joke.
It’s the real deal.
The gentleman who’s father dropped the hammer on the Star of old for unfair business practices, the dude who has been a fierce competitor with the newspaper is now sleeping with hus longtime enemy.
Fairly huge – and fairly unlikely as well.
On more than a single occasion I have sat or stood face-to-face with Star publisher Mark Zieman and listened to him berate Rose as an anti–Star zealot. In every imaginable way Zieman made clear his dislike to Rose.
However a failing economy and a dying newspaper industry can make for some very strange bedfellows.
Hearne: King Kong (Zuroweste) Joins Forces With Godzilla (KCFX)
It was a match made in butt-kicking radio heaven…
Or hell – depending on your perspective. Say if you’re working for the competition.
Former Entercom hard charger Bob Zuroweste has come to terms with Cumulus Kansas City and will hit the ground running next week when he takes over as the head of sales for KCFX-FM, The Fox.
That on the heels of the mega win by the Kansas City Chiefs yesterday seemingly catapulting themselves into a likely home playoff game at Arrowhead.
Hearne: Rumble in the Jungle, Joe Miller Takes on 2011 Elections
Remember Frankenstein‘s monster?
And how before Freddy Krueger, Michael Myers and countless other never-say-die cinematic creepers it took years for Hollywood to reincarnate villains snuffed in earlier film forrays.
Then again, how many times did they (seemingly) kill off Godzilla? Lon Chaney, Jr.? For that matter, how many times did the Pitch and Kansas City Star kill off Clay Chastain?
The list goes on – real and imagined.
Speaking of real: Add Pitch heavy hitter, turned acclaimed author, turned mayoral mastermind, turned family man, turned turncoat, turned online observer, turned novelist and college prof Joe Miller to the KC Confidential journalistc slagheap.
That’s right…
Hearne: Help Wanted, KC Confidential Reaches Out
KC Confidential is looking for a few good women (or men)…
The mission: Where to begin?
We’re looking for people to layout online ads, photographers intertested in showcasing their art and/or roving the city in search of interesting people, places and viewpoints.
But please… Pitch Street Team bimbos need not apply. We’re not interested in fielding hotties to trick drunks into giving up their email addresses.
Writers? You tell us…
Hearne: Bone Suckingly Dry & Gonna Stay That Way, Lezak Says
Global drying, anyone?
After a whopping 44 inches of snow last winter, Kansas City is bone dry and will likely stay that way into the spring, predicts KSHB TV weather wonk Gary Lezak.
"In my winter forecast November 16th I predicted we’d have a very long dry spell and we’re in one right now," Lezak says. "We were in one then and then we had 1.8 inches of rain which helped a little."
But not nearly enough…
Hearne: The Next Ellen Degeneres, This Week at Stanford’s
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It’s not like Stanford & Sons main man Craig Glazer never makes any over-the-top claims…
Far from it. It’s a well known fact that the King of Sting is also the King of Verbal Bling. But as one of the chief inhalers of Glazer’s daily smoke blowing, I can attest to the following:
When it comes to hyping and assessing comics, Glazer tells it like it is. For better and for worse. So when he urges me not to miss Iliza Shlesinger – the winner of Last Comic Standing – I take him at his word.
"She’s a don’t miss, yeah," Glazer says. "This is a girl that in a couple years will be playing the Midland. She’s the best female comic I’ve seen since Ellen. "She’s very high energy but observational. Most of the other female comics do a lot of jokes about what it’s like to be a woman instead of a man. How men are bad in bed. And dick size is a constant joke and how men have to drive Ferraris to compensate. You know, more woman versus man."
Shlesinger’s schtick?
